All of Us, All of It
- Apr 28
- 6 min read
Updated: May 5
🏆 Y'all!!! We won Best of Dripping Springs 2026 - Nonprofit agency! So before anything else... thank you, thank you, thank you! Dripping Springs Century News named us Best Nonprofit and we are still catching our breath. This award belongs to every person who has ever shown up for this community. You did this! We are so grateful.
However You Feel Right Now, We're Here for You
April held a lot. Global Volunteer Month. Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The joy of our second crawfish boil, and the weight of everything happening beyond our little corner of the Hill Country. If you ended April feeling a little wrung out, a little tender, a little unsure of whether to reach toward the community or pull the covers up and hide, we understand. Both of those impulses make complete sense right now. The world is continuing to ask more of us than it sometimes feels we have to give.
"The frustration is real. The wanting to connect and the wanting to hibernate — sometimes in the same hour — is real. All of these things are true all at once. And that is okay."
It can be hard to speak out. So this month, PODS is here to speak louder for those who just can't. And we're also here to sit quietly, hold each other's hands, and remind each other that we are all of us amazingly, wonderfully made. Just as we are, right where we are.
Next month we use our joy as resistance. But this month — in case you needed to hear it — however you feel, we are here for it. We are here for you. 💛
May doesn't let us look away, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Here are the dates we're holding this month.
May 17
IDAHOBIT 🌍
International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism & Transphobia. Love is not a crime. In a time when that feels like it needs repeating again and again, PODS says it clearly and without qualification. We see the discrimination, the legislation, the fear. We hold it alongside the joy. We don't look away.
May 22
Harvey Milk Day 🌻
"You have to give them hope." Harvey Milk knew that hope in the face of hard things isn't naive — it's strategic. He didn't pretend things were fine. He just refused to let that be the last word. Neither do we.
May 24
Pansexual Visibility Day 💛💗💙
Celebrating pansexual identity, love, and community in the Hill Country and everywhere. Pan identities are valid, whole, and welcome here. All of us means ALL of us.
All Month
Mental Health Awareness Month 💚
Our community carries a heavier weight than most. That's not weakness. It is the cost of living in a world not yet fully built for us. This month we name that plainly, and we point toward support. See our resource section below.
To Every Volunteer Who Has Ever Shown Up for PODS
April was Global Volunteer Month, and while we could fill this entire newsletter with the names of people who have poured themselves into this community over the years, what we really want to say is simpler than that.
Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts.
Whether you showed up once or a hundred times. Whether you worked the crawfish boil or answered emails. Whether you donated your time, your talent, your truck, or your Thursday evening. Whether your name is in lights or you prefer to work quietly in the background, we could not build this without you.
You are the reason this community exists. All of Us, All of It, and that includes every single one of you.
And speaking of showing up...Pride Month is coming, and we need our friends!
Pride After Dark and Pride for All are both on the horizon, and there are ways to get involved at every level. Watch your inbox and our socials for volunteer sign-up details coming soon.
Pride Month Is Almost Here 🌈
June 1st kicks off Pride Month and PODS has a full summer planned. Here's what's on the calendar:
📚 Summer Reading Challenge is Launching June 1st!
Remember those golden summers where you set a personal reading goal and turned in your chart for a pizza! Ah, the stories, the sense of accomplishment, the pizza! We want to bring that feeling back, PODS style!
🍕 Running all summer and perfect for any and everyone because you get to read what you want! We provide some inspiration bingo cards and recommendations, and you get a shot at winning a gift card for some of the best pizza around!
Details coming via email and on our socials soon!
Business Spotlight: Pink Metaphysical Beauty Collaboration, 511 Old Fitzhugh Road
Spaces Where You Belong ✂️
Pink Metaphysical Beauty Collaboration is a hair and beauty salon located at 511 Old Fitzhugh Road in Dripping Springs, Texas. The salon was founded by Heather Leslie, who apprenticed under the original owner Deborah Carter Mastelotto and went on to study at Vidal Sassoon in Santa Monica and train with Kevin Murphy in Atlanta. Her background spans precision haircutting, freeform color, session styling, and film work as both a hairstylist and makeup artist — all of which she's woven into a technique uniquely her own.
We sat down with Heather and her is what she had to say about Pink and how they support our community:
Pink is first and foremost a collaboration. It is a group of people coming together to create an environment where you can feel welcome to practice self care, community, and be creative. Specifically we have a set of core values presented to anyone who joins our collaboration and one of the most important on that list reads
"We practice acceptance. We accept people of all genders, pronouns, sexual preferences as well as orientation. We are all inclusive and we expect our clients to be the same. "
I am proud of being an organization that practices complete acceptance and inclusion. Our message to the community would be simply you are welcome here as you are! If you are looking for support and a really good time Pink is for you. Please join us in one of our chairs, at one of our events or in a suite with one of our collaborators.
P.S. We consider helping everyone express their unique individuality our personal mission.
What sets Pink apart is its metaphysical dimension. Heather is a certified Tarot practitioner and has built the salon around a philosophy that goes beyond hair — she curates the boutique with metaphysical and beauty finds, and she's moving toward a model where clients collaborate with her to build a look that's truly their own, rather than ordering up a standard service.
The team includes Rae Rose, a nail artist with a business degree and a dedication to healthy, creative nail design, and Catherine, a licensed esthetician and lash specialist with advanced training in skincare, derma-planing, micro needling, brow mapping, and waxing.
Together, the three have created a space that's as much about self-connection and self-expression as it is about beauty services.
Keep an eye on our website as we welcome Pink to our coming soon PODS Affirming Business Directory! In the meantime, look them up, pay them a visit, and tell them PODS sent you. 💖
Resource Spotlight
You Don't Have to Carry This Alone 💚
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and for our community, that's not an abstraction. LGBTQIA+ people face disproportionate rates of anxiety, depression, and crisis, especially in states like Texas where the political climate adds real weight to everyday life.
We don't look away from that. We also don't want to leave you without somewhere to turn. Here are resources we trust, from immediate crisis support to finding the right therapist for the long haul.
If You Need Support Right Now
📞 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 — free, confidential, 24/7. You can also chat at 988lifeline.org
📞Trans Lifeline
Call 877-565-8860 — staffed by trans people, for trans people. translifeline.org
💬Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741 — free text-based support, 24/7. crisistextline.org
Find an Affirming Therapist in Texas
🔍Zencare — LGBTQ+ Therapist Directory
Search vetted LGBTQ-identifying therapists in Texas, many offering telehealth statewide. Filter by identity, specialty, and insurance. zencare.co
🌐 OutCare Health — Texas Provider Directory
A comprehensive directory of LGBTQIA+-affirming providers across Texas covering mental health, primary care, and gender-affirming care. Also offers free virtual peer support groups. outcarehealth.org
🔍 Psychology Today — LGBTQ+ Texas Directory
Search by zip code, insurance, and specialty. Filter specifically for LGBTQ+-affirming therapists near you. psychologytoday.com
Local & Texas-Based Support
🏠 Resource Center Mental Healthcare, Dallas/TX
Affirming counseling services for the LGBTQIA+ and allied community in Texas. Telehealth available. myresourcecenter.org
🌱OutYouth Austin
Peer support, community programming, and resources for LGBTQIA+ youth and adults in the Austin area. outyouth.org
⚖️Equality Texas
Know your rights. Stay informed about legislation affecting LGBTQIA+ Texans. equalitytexas.org
A note from PODS 🌈
If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to one of these resources. You don't have to have it figured out. You don't have to be in crisis. You're allowed to ask for support just because things feel heavy. That counts. You count.
And if you're the person someone else leans on, thank you. You matter, too. Please take care of yourself as fiercely as you take care of others.
We are not going anywhere. Not in May. Not in November. Not in any of the wild months in between.
All of us, all of it. Stay with us, beautiful friends. 💛
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